Gripen - Red Flag

[Ths]

Proud Swede

No comments to your representation. I beg to differ on all accounts.

 

[JohanGrön]

The official Swedish military website recently had an article about Red Flag 08-3 :

(h)ttp://www2.mil.se/sv/Nyheter/Nyheter-milse/Internationella-flygovningen-Red-Flag-genomford/

Gripen measure up
Red Flag (Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada in the United States) is considered to be the most complex aerial excercise that exist in the world.

"-- The most important result is that we have shown that we measure up in this context and in the toughest exercise there is" says head of the swedish contingent Lars Helmrich.

The Swedish contingent is back at home again, and a lot of good knowledge and experience has been drawn from their participation.

"-- All operational flight has been implemented at a very high threat level where hostile ground units and aircraft:s have interacted. In addition, we have had the opportunity to practice together with a number of different countries and aircraft types which we never have come in contact with before.
Among other things, the American bomber B 52 Stratofortress, command and air surveillance AWACS and EA-6B Prowler" says contingent commander Lars Helmrich.

During the two week exercise support for ground units with Close Air Support (CAS), and Air interdict (AI: the fight against preplanned land targets) were carried out.

During the second week two of the Swedish pilots attended a desert survival training in which they trained to survive in hostile conditions after a simulated ejection over enemy territory.

In total, the Swedish unit flew 65 sorties and dropped six laser guided bombs (GBU 12) of which two were live. Approximately 900 shots of cannon rounds were fired at ground targets and to deceive heat seeking missiles a 1000 flares were spent.

"-- The most important result is that we have shown that we measure up in this context and in the toughest exercise that exist. We've also received confirmation that we have a very good aircraft, both in terms of survivability, and mission execution during high threat levels. We now know that we have a very competent staff throughout all functions. With that, we have confirmed that Flygvapnet is ready to participate on international missions with the JAS 39 Gripen" says Lars Helmrich.

The next step is, according to Helmrich, a further development of the Gripen-units. He looks for better endurance through aerial refuelling, night vision capabilities and increased interoperability training with NATO's command functions.

"-- We have drawn valuable experiences, both positive and some areas where there is room for improvement. The main challenge in the exercise has certainly been the desert heat in Nevada, which was a new experience for us" concludes Helmrich.

The desert heat wasn't made easier from the fact that maintenance personnel wasn't permitted to wear any headgear for sun protection when being on the flightline area for safety reasons.

 

[janbanan]

An actual answer to the question asked by the person starting this thread

First Red Flag exercise for Gripen C/D
The ability to ‘scramble’ fighter aircraft swiftly is critical when a threat appears, and the ability to get as many fighters as possible airborne is crucial.
2006-11-16 | A fighter turn around in less than 10 minutes, with the engines running, and an unparalleled availability rate are two of the main features of the Gripen fighter. This was proven once again during the Red Flag Alaska exercise staged this summer.

Seven Gripen new generation, multi role fighters from the Swedish Air Force, all of them delivered during 2006, flew half-way around the world to take part in Red Flag Alaska; that is a one way trip of more than 10 000 kilometers. At the Eilson Air Force Base in Alaska they meet up with combat aircraft from the US, Canadian and Japanese Air Forces.

During the eleven day exercise, Gripen flew 2 sorties a day with 4 aircraft. A total of 340 flight hours were logged, 150 of them ´on mission´. “We did all that with just 12 pilots and 35 maintenance technicians”, says Lt Colonel Ken Lindberg who was the Detachment Commander for the Swedish Air Force.

Due to Gripen’s multi-role capability, a mix of Offensive Counter Air/Close Air Support and Offensive Counter air/Air Interdiction missions were performed. In the air to ground attacks a total of 16 GBU-12 Laser Guided Bombs were dropped, together with 1000 rounds of ammunition fired from the Gripen’s internal Mauser 27 mm gun. Air-to air missiles were simulated, but more then 1 100 flares were launched as part of the whole Gripen EWS for missile defense.
Of the planned 225 missions for Gripen, four were cancelled because of bad weather and only one due to an equipment problem, an external pod. However, Colonel Lindberg confirmed that Gripen has the ability to drop Laser Guided Bombs carried on one Gripen aircraft, using laser designator pods fitted to another Gripen aircraft - this tactic was used to successfully confuse the “red team”. Forward Air Controllers (FAC) from both the Swedish and US Special Forces were also used to guide the LGB´s.

The very small radar cross section of Gripen was another problem for the ‘red team’ that included both air-to-air and surface-to-air threats. “We also confirmed that our warning and electronic warfare systems (EWS) are really, really good - it was almost impossible for the Red air force to get through our EW systems. We always knew where the air defense was, could avoid them and still do our work, even in very dynamic situations, with the threat getting more complex each day” said Colonel Lindberg.

Reference: http://www.gripen.com/en/MediaRelations/News/2006/061116_redflag.htm

 

[Grand Danois]

And with this last message, it is time to conclude this thread.

Closed.